“Nyob zoo thiab txais tos” from the International Center front desk, where you will often see Candace Vang’s smiling face. She is a junior biology pre-med major from St. Paul, who chose to attend Saint Mary’s because of the close relationships she could form with professors at a smaller school. In fact, her most positive experience here is being able to grow and build relationships with friends and professors. She was also drawn to the beautiful scenery here. As you might have guessed from the opening sentence of this article, which is in Hmong, Candace comes from the Hmong culture, which she feels isn’t really recognized here because most students don’t know much about it. Therefore, she has the very important job of informing us about her culture. She would like Saint Mary’s to know that on special occasions like the New Year, or Tet, Hmong wear traditional clothes. She adds that unlike other cultures that have a place to call home, the Hmong people do not have a home as they come from many different Asian countries. And speaking of home, Candace says that the biggest challenge she faces here is being homesick, so come on over to the International Center and make a new friend!